The Fear Inside
by MarieRock
Summary: By FuzzyShadowFoxx: After being defeated by Espada's Ulquiorra and Yammy, causing Ichigo to be overcome with guilt and shame, his Hollow continues to torment him. Will Ichigo beat him, or will he succumb to fear and fall into darkness?


**Fuzzy:** Hey everybody! :D I know some of you like my other fanfiction _Dark Side of the Moon_, but don't freak out. I just had this stuck in my head since last week and HAD to post it-well, MarieRock has to XD Thanks btw! I'm a good fan of Ichigo and Hichigo, and no, not in a yaoi way =_= Hope everything's good! Oh, and today just happens to be Ichigo's birthday! :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY ICHIGO!

Enjoy!~

~o0o~

"Can I be excused?" Ichigo asked, getting up from his seat at the dining table. His family stopped and looked up at him. "Um, sure Ichigo. But you haven't eaten dinner yet!" His younger sister Yuzu protested, pointing her spoon at his untouched food.

"It's fine. I'm not hungry." He said, leaving the table and heading upstairs.

"Oh, okay. I'll put it in the fridge for you!" Ichigo didn't respond; just quietly shut the bedroom door behind him. "Hey Karin, don't you think that Ichigo's been acting strange since yesterday?" Yuzu said, turning to her older sister.

"Just leave him be. He's probably just going through some teenage phase or whatever." Karin replied before taking a sip of OJ.

"B-but what if something bad is happening at school?" She gasped. "What if he's taking bad stuff?"

"WHAT? ICHIGO'S DOING DRUGS?" Isshin shouted loudly, only to have a fork stabbed into his forehead. "AHH!"

"You moron! Ichigo isn't doing drugs! You guys are just being over dramatic as usual." Karin said angrily as Yuzu franticly tried to get the fork out of her poor father's forehead.

"Oh, Masaki! Our daughter has injured her father! What should I do?" He shouted to the heavens, tears falling from his eyes comically.

"How about you shut up!"

Ichigo's facial expression didn't change as he heard his dad and sister's loud argument downstairs. It was normal. He changed out of his black shirt, putting on a white muscle shirt and collapsing onto his bed.

"Hey Ichigo!" The mod soul, Kon, called and landed on Ichigo's stomach. "Look at what your sister did to me again!" He pointed with his stuffed paw at the pink monstrosity he was wearing. "A guy as sexy as me should not be allowed to wear a tutu!" He complained. But Ichigo didn't even so much as glance at him. He just continued to stare up at the ceiling with a blank look on his face. Kon blinked. "Hey! Did you even hear a word I said?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that." Ichigo said impassively.

"...Ichigo? What's wrong?" Kon asked, frowning somewhat.

"Nothing, Kon." The mod soul just stared at him before hopping up onto the window sill. "Well, whatever. Has nothing to do with me anyways." With that, he jumped out the window, seeming to completely forget that he was still wearing a tutu. Ichigo turned his head slightly to look at his clock.

_8:30pm_

It was early, but he didn't care. He rested his arm over his eyes, exhaling slowly. Ever since yesterday's battle, he couldn't get the image of those two Hollow beings out of his mind. He was defeated, by Yammy and...Ulquiorra. His hand clenched in a fist and he grinded his teeth. _'I couldn't protect Inoue, I couldn't protect my friends. Am I really so weak?'_

**"If you would have let me take over, you could have won."**

Ichigo's eyes widened and he held his head in his hands, covering his ears. _'GO AWAY!'_

His Hollow chuckled. **"Upset are we?"**

_'I said, go away you stupid Hollow!'_

**"Heh."**

Ichigo suddenly found himself in his Inner World, in his shinigami form. He looked up at one of the buildings in front of him. There was Hichigo, crouching on the side of it, smirking at him. "Why am I here?" Ichigo asked, eyes narrowed.

Hichigo's smirk disappeared, and he jumped down. **"It's been rather unsettling, hearing your depressing thoughts and so on. That's why,"** He grinned savagely **"I'm gonna eat you, partner." **Ichigo's eyes widened fearfully.

**"You've noticed, haven't you? I've been getting closer and closer to the surface each time, closer to your **_**soul**_**." **He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the hilt of his sword, the cloth around it unraveling. He rested the white Zangetsu on his shoulder and watched as Ichigo pulled his Zangetsu off his back. _(A/N: Okay I know that we don't see the white Zangetsu until the Vizards training, but work with me here guys. Let's just pretend to mix the story up a bit :] )_

Hichigo lunged at Ichigo, laughing manically. Ichigo swung his Zanpakutō up, blocking the blow from the other sword, but was pushed back. He held up Zangetsu in front of him defensively. **"What are you so afraid of?" **Hichigo cackled.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Ichigo shouted angrily. "Getsuga Tensho!" Hichigo's expression went from excitement to bore as he stepped to the side, dodging the attack. He disappeared and was beside Ichigo, grabbing the blade of the black Zangetsu.** "A weak attack like that is child's play."** Ichigo's eyes widened and he shunpoed away. _'He dodged the Getsuga Tensho?' _Hichigo's golden eyes bore into his brown ones, full of malice. A chill went through his body, causing his heartbeat to quicken and sweat to appear on his brow. He knew what this was, but didn't want to admit it.

_Fear._

He was afraid.

Ichigo did the only thing he could do: turned and ran away.

**"Eh? Running away Ichigo?" **Hichigo smirked. **"I don't mind. LET'S PLAY!"**

Ichigo ran past a bunch of buildings. _'Dammit! How do I get out of here?' _He wanted to leave, to get away. Anything would be better then this! Hichigo appeared above him and brought his sword down. He dodged and shunpoed faster behind a building. He panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. He suddenly felt ashamed of himself. _'Running away won't do anything. I have to-'_

**"Outta breath already, partner?" **Hichigo's mocking voice forced Ichigo to snap out of his thoughts. The Hollow suddenly appeared in front of him, the white Zangetsu's blade at his throat. **"I have to say Ichigo, I'm disappointed." **Hichigo's grin turned into a slight frown. Ichigo looked at him, eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Really? Is that all you have to say?" He swung Zangetsu and knocked the other blade away. He charged at Hichigo and clashed swords. "I'm the one who should be disappointed." Hichigo's eyebrow rose, before his lips curled up into a smirk. They disappeared, only to be seen as a flash of black and white. The sounds of clashing metal and battle cries echoed off the odd angled buildings.

**"Ya'know, when I become king I'm gonna make sure I get the two that so easily defeated you." **Hichigo's blue tongue ran over his lips. **"And then those friends of yours will be history!" **He laughed insanely, pushing against Ichigo.

Ichigo's glare intensified. "You bastard! There's no way in hell I would let-" He was cut off as Hichigo's foot connected with his chest. He went flying and slammed into one of the buildings. He gasped in pain.

**"'I won't let you harm my friends' yea yea, I get it already." **Hichigo walked over, his large sword resting on his shoulder. **"Your words and so called promises have no meaning whatsoever. When you say something 'oh-so-heroic' like that, you should at least be able to do something about it!"**

Ichigo stepped out of the building, blood pouring from a wound on his head. "Shut the hell up!" He shouted angrily. His eyes widened when a cut appeared on his shoulder.

**"Yahahahaha!" **Hichigo launched himself at Ichigo, slicing and swinging. Ichigo grunted as the impact of the blows became heavier on his sword._ 'Dammit! When did he get so strong?' _His sword was suddenly knocked out of his hands. He jerked when a pale hand wrapped around his throat.

**"You've lost your weapon, so why are you just standing there like an idiot?" **Hichigo kneed him in the gut and threw him to the ground. Ichigo led out a cry of pain and coughed up blood. He tried to sit up, but Hichigo's foot stomped down on his chest, pushing him back down. **"Your really pathetic, you know that King?" **He pressed down harder. **"It's sad how easy it was for you to lose your sword." **Ichigo coughed, looking up at him with half lidded eyes.

_'N-no...it can't...end like this..!'_

Hichigo grinned, raising his sword over his head. **"It's over, ICHIGO!"**

Everything seemed to go in slow motion for Ichigo. He watched helplessly as the sword came down, waiting to slice through flesh and bone...

A hand shot out and grabbed the Hollow's wrist, stopping the sword from swinging down. Ichigo's eyes widened. Hichigo's golden eyes narrowed dangerously at the person who had his wrist. **"Zangetsu."** He hissed angrily.

"Old man...Zangetsu?" Ichigo muttered.

Zangetsu's expression remained calm and serious. _"Enough. I won't allow you to do this." _He said in a deep voice. Hichigo tried to tug out of the Zanpakutō's grip.

**"Let go!"** He growled.

_"You won't use us like this." _The large white sword in his hand degenerated. Hichigo's eyes widened before glaring ferociously. Zangetsu stared back impassively. After a moment, Hichigo scoffed.

**"Che, fine. You get your way, for now." **He turned to Ichigo. **"Looks like I can't kill you just yet. Oh well. I'll be seeing you again real soon."** He laughed darkly. **"Later, Ichigo." **He grinned and disappeared.

Ichigo groaned and slowly sat up. "Thanks a lot, Zangetsu." Said Zanpakutō just stared down at him, eyes narrowed. He turned and began walking away.

_"You let your fear control you, Ichigo." _He said coolly, before fading away as well.

Ichigo's eyes snapped open. He was back in his bedroom. He sat up, resting his face in his hand. Zangetsu's words echoed in his mind and he grimaced. He looked out his window, moonlight shining on his face. "...Damn." He muttered, and laid back down on his bed.

~o0o~

**Fuzzy:** Weeellll? How was my first one-shot? Good I hope XD R&R please!


End file.
